Buckinghamshire Escape to the Country

For centuries, hooks like this could be found in towns and villages throughout the country.

However, very few of them survived.

So, what was it used for and where is it?

I'll tell you in just a moment.

On today's show, we're helping a couple of busy city dwellers

with a generous budget find peace in a home county.

One of our properties is hard to size up.

I guess it's not as spacious as you might have imagined.

-But our buyers come alive at another.

-What a difference!

-Already.

-I can definitely smile, it's much better.

-You are animated.

Today, I'm in Buckinghamshire in the village of Ivinghoe.

And this is a thatch hook.

For many years it was used in the event of a building or house fire

when the locals would rip the burning thatch from the roofs

to stop the fire from spreading.

And today, there's still plenty about this wonderful county

to ignite your interest.

Situated in south-east England, landlocked Buckinghamshire borders

a number of counties, including Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire

as well as the administrative area of Greater London.

Despite its close proximity to the capital,

Buckinghamshire retains a distinct rural quality

and you certainly don't feel that you are close to a major city,

surrounded as you are by breathtaking views

of the English countryside.

Geographically, the county is split diagonally

by the rolling chalky hills of the Chilterns,

over which the red kite soars majestically again

after being driven to extinction.

The north of the county is dominated by the Vale of Aylesbury,

a large expanse of mainly agricultural land.

Here, you'll find the impressive Stowe House

with its landscaped gardens designed by Capability Brown.

Dotted with pretty, unspoilt villages,

but easily accessible from London,

this is a county which offers the perfect rural escape

for those who need to continue to work in the capital.

Right, I'm not going to lie to you -

Buckinghamshire is an expensive place to buy a house.

£488,000 is the average cost of a detached home here.

That's not far off twice the national figure.

However, your property pound will go further if you know where to look.

As a general rule, as you head north,

house prices become more affordable.

Take a look at Buckingham itself,

where property is, according to local estate agents,

around 30% cheaper than, say, Beaconsfield in the south.

So let's meet today's buyers and find out why they want to move here.

Nick and Karen met at work nine years ago.

Home is currently Barnes in south-west London.

But they both feel it's time for a change of pace and surroundings.

We've lived in south-west London for about 10 years.

So it's just time to move out and get a bit more outdoor space.

You are always around people, it's always very busy,

you don't get any peace.

Nick is a civil servant and Karen is a management consultant.

They've homed in on one of the Home Counties.

We still need to commute into London

because we're trying to get that perfect meld of space

and countryside, but still be able to get into London for work.

Also trying to get nearer my sister who lives in South Warwickshire,

so we are looking at probably Buckinghamshire

as the kind of county we have settled on.

And for Karen, Buckinghamshire is almost like coming home.

I like Buckinghamshire, because it's a shire county,

I grew up in a shire county.

It will be quite agricultural, which I quite like.

But it's got a bit of variety.

As far as the house goes, the kitchen will be key.

For me, cooking is a switch-off mechanism.

I have a busy day, a busy worklife,

and I just like to potter in the kitchen, be creative.

So the next property,

I do want something of comparable space to what we have now.

As for the outside space,

our self-confessed foodies are hungry for more.

I'm hoping for a garden that's going to be a bit larger than

we have at the moment.

I really want somewhere where we can grow things. I'm also very keen

that it's not just a garden itself but something to look out on,

a view from the garden.

A move to the countryside will offer them

more opportunities to indulge their passions.

I've got a hobby which I'm trying to cultivate, which is carving stone.

At the moment, I have to set it up outside

and you annoy the neighbours and it's dusty.

So I really would like a workshop where I can have my equipment out.

I do a bit of cycling in London, but I have to say, I don't enjoy it.

There's too much traffic, too many people.

I like the idea of cycling in peaceful countryside

and actually enjoying the view of what one is cycling through

rather than just it being going from A to B type of activity,

which it is in London for me.

All that's left is to find out how much they've got

to turn this rural dream into a reality.

The budget we have for this move is £950,000.

Taking into consideration that Nick and Karen want to commute into London,

we are starting our property search in the south of the county.

I've come to meet the couple to find out more about their ideal home.

Nick and Karen, great to meet you.

We are looking for your next house in Buckinghamshire, aren't we?

-We are indeed, yes.

-Had enough of London life?

Yes, it's time to move out into the countryside.

Because Buckinghamshire is a great county for commuting to London

and if that's where you're based for work, we've got to be realistic.

Yes, I'm thinking about an hour out of London,

an hour and a half door-to-door. It's a realistic distance.

Are you aware that Buckinghamshire is split in two, if you like?

-North and south, yes.

-The north and south divide, shall we say.

It certainly has an effect on the price

with the Chiltern Hills in between.

With this new home, tell me what you're looking for.

A bit of open space, three to four bedrooms,

particularly open living, so we like the cooking a lot,

so the kitchen/dining bit is really important.

And a bit of outdoor space, Nick's got some ideas about...

From the, I'd like a bit of a view.

I've got the idea of maybe some garden space where one could potentially have chickens

or at least grow things, cos I'm keen, as a cook,

I can grow my own fruit and vegetables and use those.

What about the style of property?

What are you looking for in your house? Any particular features?

I'm quite in favour of something more traditional, certainly with

some character. I don't mind if it's brand-new, as long as it's characterful.

Form and function, so it's got some real style, but it is practical.

Who's going to make the final decision?

We'll disagree on this!

-Are you ready to get started?

-Brilliant, yes.

For a generous budget of £950,000,

Nick and Karen want a traditional-looking property.

The key is light and space and they want plenty of it.

The kitchen must also be big enough for them to enjoy cooking together

and they want three to four bedrooms

and a large enough garden to grow their own vegetables.

We've got three wonderful properties to show our countryside commuters.

And as always, I'll be asking our buyers to guess

the price at the end of each house tour.

Our final property, the mystery house,

isn't your typical Buckinghamshire home.

Can you see a time in your lives when you'll stop working in London?

Probably less so for me.

Mainly because the nature of what I do is largely London-based.

-I think I might.

-Yes.

-I might rethink what I do a bit.

-Yes, once you get the taste.

-Yes.

-Of the country life.

In a way, when you are commuting back home, on that train, you can

leave the city life behind, the noise the pollution and all that

and then you've got all this to look forward to. Just look at the view.

-Fantastic.

-Beautiful.

For our first house, we're travelling

to the hamlet of Widmer End,

around three miles north of High Wycombe, which is

about a 30-minute train ride from the capital.

The closest village is Hughenden Valley, which has

a range of amenities including a community shop, village hall and pub.

Its most famous former resident is Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli,

who lived in Hughenden Manor

and is buried in the local parish churchyard.

Just a five-minute drive away, our first house awaits.

So, Nick and Karen, here is your first property.

It looks brilliant, actually, sweet.

-A good start?

-I think so.

-I like the flints.

-It's classically Buckinghamshire, flint.

-Absolutely.

It's a real statement property to start off with, isn't it?

Yes, it's pretty.

-As we walked in, this is your land on the side.

-OK.

So you've got that huge area here.

There are three houses in total on this plot,

but a pretty house, is that the thing you had in mind?

Or completely different?

It's pretty, it's got a bit of character,

I can see it from the age.

-So it's a good start.

-Yeah? Karen?

It's not what I had in mind, but it is pretty, so it does meet the brief.

So yes, interesting.

OK, it's got to be right for you,

-so let's see what you think when we go inside.

-OK, cool.

Our first property is a Grade II listed farmhouse

which was built in the year 1820.

Bearing in mind our couple's love of food,

we're heading to the most important first.

Let's start with the kitchen/breakfast room.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-I guess it's not as spacious as you might imagine.

Do you think it looks bigger from the outside?

I didn't expect the kitchen to be here.

I expected it to be at the back of the house.

-Stereotypically, that's what you would expect.

-Yes, very true.

You normally have your sitting/drawing rooms either side,

-don't you?

-I wasn't expecting the kitchen to be here.

You do have a lot of room here. You've got a huge dining area.

So you could reconfigure it.

I like you! Already, you're working out how it will work best for you.

You could make better use of this and make it into one big kitchen.

Yes, that's doable. We quite like that in some ways, don't we?

-OK, let's continue if I can squeeze past.

-Yes.

-Thank you.

-Next I want to show you the sitting room.

-Yes.

-Cottagey?

-Yes.

-Definitely has a cottage feel, doesn't it?

I like the fireplace, that is fab.

A huge inglenook dominates this room, doesn't it?

It's almost wasted in such a small room really, but it's really nice.

It makes a good kind of reading, music room.

They've got books here, I think that works well.

I can see this as a quiet room.

If Nick and Karen are worried about the downstairs space, there is

an additional sitting room which is triple aspect

with a door out onto the patio.

There is also a utility room and shower room on the ground floor.

Upstairs, the property has three double bedrooms,

all of which have fitted cupboards.

And there's a small study area that could be turned into a single.

-With this move, you were after three to four bedrooms.

-Yes.

This would be the master bedroom.

It's not en suite, but you do have a family bathroom upstairs.

You've also got that shower room and toilet downstairs.

En suite doesn't really bother us very much, does it?

-Do you have one at the moment?

-No.

-So we're not used to it.

-A big family bathroom, in effect.

-Yeah, that's fine.

-It's a decent size.

-It's a reasonable-sized room.

Get our big double bed in.

Whereas the front of the house has a more formal garden,

the back of the property is a bit more secluded.

Plenty of room for a vegetable patch

and for Karen to do her stone carving.

-Nice and private, isn't it?

-I was just going to ask you that question.

We are so close, it's so easy to commute to London. But neighbours?

Can't really see them, can you?

I think first, you think you're in the middle of nowhere,

but the privacy comes across, which is what we wanted.

And I've noticed, I can see a swimming pool.

Oh, that was my surprise!

-Your beady eyes have got it. And it's heated.

-Wow, that's better.

It's quite nice when I can say, "There's a swimming pool as well."

-Did you ever want a swimming pool?

-No.

Let's get down to money, crunch time.

How much do you think this house is on the market for?

-You can guess first.

-I'm going somewhere around 925.

-OK.

I think it's more than that.

-I'm going to say 935.

-OK.

You are the closest.

-But it is above that, it's £950,000.

-I'm not surprised.

-No.

Because it's got more space than I thought, and the swimming pool.

You're paying for the location, aren't you? That convenience.

-Absolutely.

-Do you fancy having another look around?

Someone might be keen to look at the heated pool.

-Oh, no, it's you, isn't it?

-I think it's growing on me.

-Pool girl.

-Pool girl.

-Off you go, have a look around, take your time.

Have a think about what this house represents and offers you

and I'll catch up with you when you're ready. See you later.

On the market for £950,000, our first property is bang on

Nick and Karen's budget.

It's a brick and flint former farmhouse

which dates back to the 1820s.

The living accommodation includes a kitchen/diner

and two reception rooms, three double bedrooms and there are

large garden areas at both the front and rear of the house.

Plus there's the bonus of a heated swimming pool.

I thought it was really pretty, I did enjoy the house.

I thought it was nice and characterful,

and the flint is very impressive.

I have to confess, as I came into the house, I found it a bit dark.

Then I guess that's to be expected with this kind of property

which is of its age and has a very cottagey feel.

As lovely as the property is,

I didn't feel it really works for me

because while I'm happy to invest and do some work in a new property,

I think to get it to how we would like it

would require just too much investment.

I think the outside space is lovely.

I love the gardens at the front, set back from the road.

And I like the privacy and it's a bit wilder at the back.

I have to say, when I went into the house, it was just a little smaller

than perhaps I would have hoped for, having seen it from the outside.

So I think we could make some changes to make it kind of liveable.

But if I'm being really honest, it's probably not my ideal house.

-Have you seen enough?

-Yes, thank you.

-Thank you.

That's the first tour over.

We're off to see our second property and I'll give you a little clue.

-This time we are going to head north.

-OK.

Centuries ago, Buckinghamshire's wheat fields swayed with native wild varieties,

which as well as providing a food staple,

were put to good use as roofing material.

But as farming became more mechanised

and demand for flour increased in the 19th century,

farmers switched to fast-growing monocultured crops.

With Britain in the grips of a baking revolution,

one Buckinghamshire-based farmer

is bucking the trend by growing the historic grains once again.

Since Nick and Karen are both passionate about food,

we sent them to meet the heritage harvester, John Letts.

-Hi, I'm Karen, nice to meet you.

-Hi, Karen, nice to meet you.

-Hi, I'm Nick.

-Hi, Nick, I'm John.

Welcome to the farm.

I'd love to show you my fields, some very unusual fields.

-Full of heritage grains.

-What are those?

-Tell us about heritage grains.

Heritage grains, in my opinion,

are really varieties of cereal which have been grown prior to about 1900.

Also including some very unusual, rare species of cereals - Einkorn wheat, Emmer wheat, spelt wheat.

Really ancient crops, the crops of our ancestors.

These are not varieties you can purchase in the shop

or get from a plant breeding company.

They're all very old, so you start off with about 25 seeds.

So you plant them in little row crops, then in bigger plots,

then you get a tenfold increase every year.

If you come to the farm, I've got flour there and we can do some baking.

Make some bread, some pizza, then you can see it's different.

-OK.

-OK.

The organically grown wheat contains less gluten than your average

supermarket flour. So it's better on the digestion.

And it's perfect for making pizza.

What you don't want for pizza is a dough that's too stretchy,

with too much gluten in it. So I've mixed in a wheat called rivet wheat

which was introduced by the Normans and it has a beautiful flavour

and it has a moderate strength in terms of its gluten.

With the flour having already been mixed with yeast, salt,

water and a splash of olive oil,

the dough begins to rise in the heat of the summer sun.

First, we need to cut off a section roughly of what we need.

-We'll have a couple of pizzas, so that will be OK for me.

-The rest is mine?

The rest is yours, that's very large pizza.

-There you go, you can cut off a section.

-Yes.

As she begins kneading the dough, Karen immediately notices

a difference to baking with normal flour.

So it's stretchy, but not ever so stretchy. Does that make sense?

-Yes, it's springing out, but not springing back too much.

-Exactly.

-Feels pretty much right.

-It feels great.

Just time to add the toppings

before the pizza bread is placed in the wood-fired oven.

10 minutes later and it's ready to taste.

It certainly tastes nice.

I think it's got a slightly richer taste, maybe nuttier.

-It's very nice.

-Good.

-Great texture.

Now that Nick and Karen have sampled the local flavours,

let's see if we can find a property to set their taste buds alight.

For our second house, we are leaving the south of the county

and heading 30 miles north to the village of Thornborough.

Nearby Buckingham is the best bet for shops and restaurants

and has all the amenities typical of a small market town.

In the Middle Ages, Buckingham was a prosperous wool town,

but in the early 18th century, many of its buildings were destroyed

by fire and those you see today were built in the Georgian era.

Our second property is a five-minute drive

outside of the town on the banks of the river Great Ouse.

It's a brick and stone barn conversion.

-What do you think?

-It's got a good length to it.

I can see two layers, so it's clearly a good size.

-Particularly compared to the first house.

-I like its informality.

I think it looks welcoming.

Very different. This property actually dates back to 1770.

-OK, wow.

-It's Grade II listed.

I've got quite a lot to show you with this property.

-Are you keen to get started?

-I am.

-Yes.

-Let's go through.

The present owners of our second house

converted it from just a shell in the early 1980s.

Today, it greets you with a large entrance hall.

We'll start off with the drawing-room.

-As you can see it's very light and very open.

-Yes.

-Very nice.

-I like that.

-I love the stone.

-What a difference.

-Already...

-I can smile, it's much better.

-Animated, you're animated.

You come in here and you've got the exposed local stone,

huge fireplace, it does dominate the room, but it has got a cosy feel.

-But it's actually quite big and open.

-Cosy but light, very nice.

Let's go back through the house because the kitchen is down here.

A much more positive reaction to our second property from Nick and Karen.

Beyond the drawing room, there's also a study

should one of them decide to work from home in the future.

-I'll show you I think another country kitchen.

-OK.

-The first thing you notice is the bright red range.

-It's enormous.

That's oil. As in the heating for the property as well.

I quite like the fact it's red.

Lots of them you see are cream.

They sort of settle, but actually the red gives another warmth

and stands out and makes it a feature.

-What about the space itself? Big enough?

-Absolutely.

I think you can make the space work, we could do different things to it.

I'd want to do something with it to make it ours.

But there's plenty of potential in terms of the space.

On top of this, past the kitchen to the right,

you've got a downstairs shower and toilet.

And a boot area.

To keep the mess out of the way. Good. Right, let's continue through.

So you do have a dining area in the kitchen,

but you've also got a more formal dining room here.

-That's nice and light. We like light.

-A good room.

You don't often get a generous space for the dining area.

-And it's square.

-You are immediately intrigued by the staircase.

Yes, where does that lead to? You actually have a bedroom up there.

-OK. Quirky.

-So, the shower and the toilet and utility room

with so many guests staying there

-because it's not en suite.

-I can see that make sense.

So they've thought about that.

There's another set of stairs back through the house.

In addition to the guest bedroom at this end of the property,

there are three additional bedrooms up the other set of stairs,

as well as a family bathroom.

Two of those bedrooms are good-sized doubles

and there's one single, currently being used as an office.

So you remember you've got one bedroom

on the other side of the property.

It's not a bad sized room, is it?

What about the size, the dimensions of this room.

Would this work for you two?

Something going through my mind is where to put clothes.

Good point, a very good point. You do have a wardrobe here.

-I didn't see that. OK.

-But it isn't huge.

No, but it's not small, it's a reasonable size.

-And I guess we could find ways around that.

-Let's head downstairs.

Bit of a reality check for you, because I am going to ask you

about the money after I've shown you all the garden and land.

-OK?

-Yeah.

And that land includes large mature gardens at the front

and back of the property

and a meadow, as well as access to the river Great Ouse.

To the side of the main house,

there's also an additional outbuilding,

currently being used as a beauty salon with two rooms,

which could make a perfect stone-carving workshop for Karen.

So, how much land d'you think you might have in total? Any ideas?

-It certainly looks a lot bigger than house number one.

-0.7 of an acre.

-Two acres, actually.

-Two?! I absolutely love the setting.

You can just imagine being out here in the summer, it's peaceful.

And it just looks like it's been here a long time.

It feels like it's been here a long time, but in a good way.

So, sounding very positive.

Let's hope it doesn't go wrong with the price.

Well, I think it needs a bit of work to it,

and it's north of the county, so I'm going to go

probably similar to last time, I'm going to go for £915,000.

All right.

I'm going to go £940,000.

-Are you competitive, you two?

-No.

-Oh.

Because Karen is closest again.

-Asking price is £950,000.

-OK.

The other thing I'll add before I send you back into the property

-and have a wander around is it's only just gone on the market.

-OK.

-So you never know how the prices might move.

-No.

So go and take another look, have a think, with that price in mind,

whether this is the house for you,

and if it is, what you might want to do to it yourselves.

-Brilliant. Thank you.

-Enjoy it, see you in a minute.

-Thank you.

Like our first property,

the second is also on the market at £950,000 -

right on budget.

It's a converted stone barn

which dates back to the 18th century.

The accommodation includes a large sitting room

and kitchen/breakfast room

and there are four bedrooms in total.

It's set on two acres of grounds

and there's a separate outbuilding

for a workshop.

I'm liking this property a lot better than the first one.

For me, there's a lot more light in this property

and I really like the real traditional character.

There are some challenges with it,

because it needs, I think, some work doing,

particularly round the kitchen,

and the upstairs space.

I think there's a lot of reconfiguration work required there.

Compared to the first property,

the outside has much more "wow" factor

when you come up and see the stream or the river

and the stone is just really impressive,

so you get a really great first impression coming here.

I think the kitchen space

into the sort of sitting, dining area works nicely

and we could reconfigure it.

But when we went upstairs, I thought that would be replicated,

but actually, the rooms are a little bit smaller.

-Do you think you've seen enough now?

-Yes.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-It's been a great day, hasn't it?

-Mm-hm.

-We've seen...

-You've given us some real things to think about.

-Good.

That's how we like to leave it.

-We're going to hit the road now.

-Brilliant. Thank you.

It's day two of our property search

and, on a generous budget of £950,000,

we're helping Nick and Karen swap lively London

for beautiful Buckinghamshire.

Coming up, we get friendly at the mystery house.

I could like you.

LAUGHTER

And I meet the public servants

who have dedicated their lives to the country.

Now, both the houses we showed Karen and Nick yesterday

had their merits, but by the sounds of things,

they weren't quite right for our couple.

So today, it's the turn of our mystery house.

Now, I like to think all the properties we show our buyers

have something special.

But every now and then, we see something extraordinary

and today, with our mystery house - well, it's an absolute corker.

If this doesn't move and excite them,

nothing will.

For our final offering,

we're heading to the village of North Crawley,

which is located near the border with Bedfordshire.

North Crawley is a pretty village with a Saxon church,

a variety of historic houses, including two public houses

and a farm shop selling local produce,

and our mystery house is bang in the centre of the village.

But it isn't the traditional detached Buckinghamshire house

they had in mind.

It's a leasehold maisonette, but not your average one.

So, Nick and Karen, welcome to your third property -

the mystery house.

It's certainly grand, isn't it?

LAUGHTER

-We can't say you haven't done splendour.

-Yes, yes.

It's not all yours, you'll be relieved to know.

The original manor house was built in the 16th century

for Cardinal Wolsey.

-OK. Wow.

-This part here, guess what it was?

-Servant's quarters.

-Absolutely.

If you look across, your side of the property

is from the end right the way through.

-See where the drainpipe comes down?

-Yeah.

There's another chimney to the left of that -

that's sort of the dividing line.

-Oh, right - gosh.

-OK. That's quite a bit of it.

Quite a bit of it, isn't it?

It's quite large, yeah, it is quite large.

How do you feel, then, perhaps about being the next owners

of something quite this splendid?

-It could be really interesting.

-Or daunting.

-Let's take a look round.

-Brilliant.

Our mystery house is one of six properties

which make up the east wing of an older manor house.

Although it was the servants' quarters in its previous life,

the accommodation inside is fit for a lord

and it's spread over four floors.

Very glamorous servants' quarters.

Certainly is, isn't it?

-Right. This way.

-OK.

-So, welcome to a little bit of history, I think.

-Yes.

-Isn't it?

-That's nice and airy.

-A bit of charm.

I'm going to start off with that hallway.

-Yeah.

-Unusual lift as you walk through the door.

Now, the property is Grade II listed.

-Yeah.

-And within that listing, the laundry lift is named.

-It's functioning?

-It is.

You can't touch it, that's the only thing -

it is in working order, it's perfect,

but you can't take it out.

Just a great feature - you wouldn't want to, would you?

And then we come straight through into your kitchen.

Which is just great.

It's got a great proportion, it's got great light.

The wood's lovely, isn't it?

So, this is used as the kitchen at the moment,

but I think you should have a look next door,

-cos that could be a fantastic kitchen.

-OK.

OK, so it's used as the dining room at the moment.

So, what, you're thinking move the kitchen

or join the two up...?

I think this would make the most amazing kitchen/dining area.

-Yeah.

-It is beautiful.

But just as a thought...

I do quite like the idea of opening it up a bit, but...

It's how much we can do within the listing, I guess.

-Or you could make all this space...

-Just a large kitchen diner.

..an amazing kitchen diner,

and you could have that as your formal dining area,

if you wanted to.

Swap it around a bit.

This house is truly immense.

As well as this floor,

there's a whole other world below our feet - a vast basement

which includes a storeroom, wine cellar, cinema room,

as well as one on the most impressive laundry rooms

I've ever seen.

Back upstairs, as we weave our way through the house,

we pass one of the sitting rooms.

So you've got two sitting rooms, if you like.

It's a really nice, bright room.

What do you think about the property so far,

just looking on this one level?

Uh...you can't deny it's really interesting.

It's...got a lot of potential.

-When you say "character", it's just...

-Oodles.

Oodles of character. Yeah, absolutely.

Ready to look at the bedrooms?

Yes, yes.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms spread across two floors.

Not surprisingly, they're all a good size.

The top floor is where you'll find two of the doubles

along with an office and shower room.

There's another double on the floor below,

with an adjacent bathroom,

and also the master suite.

-So this, in a way, is your...private quarter.

-Wow.

-Got a double shower through there.

-OK.

Because this is the master bedroom.

-That's definitely a master bedroom.

-That is a master bedroom.

Yes, definitely spacious, isn't it? The arch is lovely.

If you did have guests coming to stay,

literally, this is your part of the house.

You could just close the door.

-Yes, makes sense.

-That does make sense.

You're making me smile.

-What about you, Nick?

-I'm liking it quite a lot, so far.

It has a certain seductive charm, doesn't it?

THEY LAUGH

Is it luring you two in?

It's highly seductive charm.

The mystery house has cast a spell over our buyers

but there's still the spacious outside grounds to take in.

As well as the property's own private land,

which includes a lawn area and paddock,

Nick and Karen would also benefit

from the use of 64 acres of communal gardens,

a shared heated swimming pool and tennis court.

With so much on offer,

I'm keen to find out how much they think it all costs.

Are you ready? Who wants to go first?

How much is it on the market for, please?

I don't know. It's certainly...

I'm guessing...I'm guessing you're pushing us to the end, here,

so I'm going to assume it's the million.

Yeah, I was going to say the same.

The asking price is...

..£900,000.

I could like you.

NICKI LAUGHS

There was no reaction for a good two seconds!

That's a very long two seconds.

I was expecting you to go, "999,999" or something.

£900,000.

Off you go - enjoy. Lord and lady of the manor!

-Take it away.

-Thank you.

Wow - it's really hard not to get excited

when you're walking around a property like this.

It just gives you a glimpse, I think, of history.

The fact that it's so much under their budget...

Just look at this location. It's fabulous.

On the market for £900,000,

our mystery house has the lowest price of all our properties

and is under budget by £50,000.

Originally the servants' quarters to a historic mansion,

it's one of six properties in the east wing.

The accommodation is spread over four floors

and includes cellar rooms, a spacious dining room

and four large bedrooms, including a master suite.

It comes with its own private land,

but also, 64 acres of communal gardens,

swimming pool and a tennis court.

I have to confess that my feelings are kind of mixed.

On one hand, it's just a delightful house

and I could really see us living here.

I don't know - I'm slightly nervous, and I don't really know why.

Probably because it was so different to what I had in my head.

It's a bit more communal living than I had thought about.

The mystery house has surpassed my expectation.

I know it's always going to be a surprise,

and usually, it's about compromises.

But I don't feel I need to compromise with this property.

I have a slight "but" - the "but" is just down to practicalities,

how we will get on with neighbours.

But I am certainly really, really keen.

So, that's it. How do you feel about leaving?

I want to go back and look inside, really, but we won't.

Well, you've seen all our properties.

-Yes.

-I think we need some time to think.

We definitely need time to think.

Your mystery house has definitely stretched those boundaries,

which I guess was your whole idea.

That's really good - OK, let's go.

Nick and Karen are looking for properties

within a specific price range,

but if you have a different budget,

there are plenty of other delightful ones to choose from

here in Buckinghamshire.

For £300,000,

there's this two-bedroom detached cottage

for sale in the village of Padbury.

Part thatched and Grade II listed,

the accommodation includes a cosy living room

with inglenook fireplace

and a master bedroom with exposed timbers.

Further up the price scale, in the village of Quainton,

you'll find this three-bedroom barn conversion

on sale at £435,000.

Inside, there's a spacious sitting and dining room,

conservatory with views out onto the garden

and a master bedroom with vaulted ceiling.

Finally, for those with a bit more in their budget,

what about this three-bedroom converted Victorian school

in the village of Soulbury,

on the market for £600,000?

Arranged over two floors,

the architect has made a feature of the double window

and the interior includes a light and spacious kitchen

and galleried master bedroom.

It's no secret that I'm passionate about horses

and I'm particularly excited about being in Buckinghamshire,

as the county is home to the world's oldest horse charity,

The Horse Trust.

Founded in the year 1886 to help London work horses,

it provides respite to retired four-legged public servants

as well as those who have suffered from cruelty and neglect.

I've come to this unique equine retirement home

in Princes Risborough

to meet Catherine Napper and one of her elderly residents.

Who's this handsome beast?

This is Commando.

Commando is a 16-year-old retired military working horse.

So what's his story, what's his history?

He had a very illustrious career - he's one of the few horses

who served in both the Golden and Diamond Jubilees,

as well at the royal wedding in 2011.

Aw! And then did he retire shortly after that?

He did.

He was very popular as an officer's charger

because of his good looks and - unbelievably - his good behaviour.

And he was known by his officers as the "perfect cavalry black".

But he looks in such good health,

but obviously not, otherwise he wouldn't be here.

He suffers form arthritis, so he can no longer be ridden

and continue with the work required of a military horse.

But he is very happy and healthy.

He just lives in the field and has a very happy, horsey life

as a retired gentleman.

Yeah, I like that - "a retired gentleman."

He looks so happy, Matt's doing a very good job.

-He's so active.

-He is. He's a bit of a handful, sometimes.

In its early years,

the Trust was instrumental in helping horses

involved in fighting in the First World War

by providing the first motorised horse ambulance

to evacuate wounded animals from the Western Front.

As well as ex-military horses,

the charity takes in retirees from the police force,

some of whom can be ridden as it helps their rehabilitation.

So, who's this, Catherine?

This is Otto. He's a 17-year-old police horse

who retired to us from Thames Valley Police.

And did he see a lot of active service?

As he was a police horse,

I'm guessing he probably saw some pretty violent sights.

He did. He was an incredibly brave police horse

and he attended a lot of football matches

and protected the public at riots, including the London riots in 2011.

These horses do face some incredibly dangerous

and sometimes violent situations.

So did he see some really nasty sights?

-Did it have an effect?

-It did.

He was a show jumper before he became a police horse

and for many years, he was a very brave and very good police horse.

But as he got older, it started to affect him psychologically

and it became all a little bit too much for him,

so he's retired to us.

Due to his tough police career, Otto is a nervous horse,

but it's not long before he begins to trust me.

Good boy, come on.

Good boy, come on.

Come on. Come on.

Good boy.

It's truly wonderful that these magnificent creatures

that have served the British public for so many years

are able to spend the rest of their lives here,

in peace and tranquillity.

I think you deserve an apple, don't you?

I think you all do. You've deserved it.

Well, that's it for our house hunt

here in a very sunny Buckinghamshire.

Now, for me, there's one clear favourite,

but let's hear what Nick and Karen have got to say.

So Nick, Karen, we showed you two wonderful properties yesterday,

but I think it's fair to say they didn't quite work for you,

did they?

No, not quite.

I mean, they all had their merits,

but they weren't quite the right place for us

to live in for the next ten years or so.

So that brings me nicely on to our mystery house.

-Yes.

-Yes. You were trouble, with your mystery house!

LAUGHTER

Which I guess is the purpose of the mystery house, yes.

You had no idea, did you?

No, I thought you might do other things to us,

but I didn't think you'd put us in some kind of country mansion.

No, I wasn't expecting that, no.

So, what are your thoughts on that property?

Still very taken by it in terms of the quality and the location.

Absolutely love it.

What's on my mind is, whilst we've got lots of grounds,

it is just the how you get from the house into your own garden,

how you make it private,

cos you've kind of got the doorstep and then stepping into the garden,

not normally as part of, as you were calling it,

the "in-out" bit.

How do we do that and make it work?

Tempted to go for a second viewing quite quickly?

Yes, I'd be interesting in seeing...

-You know, it's a glorious day today.

-Yes.

I would like to see it in a slightly different light,

or at a weekend, or some other context,

to...get a feel for the place.

When people aren't at work, actually -

how busy is it at the weekend?

What do people do at the weekends? Get rid of the sunshine, for once!

I know - normally, you're saying to people,

"If it looks good like this,

"think what it'd look like with the sun shining."

We had the best day of the year, didn't we?

Will you let us know how you get on, what decision you make?

-Definitely.

-Of course.

I really hope you go for a second viewing,

that it's the house for you.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, it's been great fun.

It's amazing - you can be within an hour's commute

to one of the busiest cities in the world

and still live in the heart of the glorious British countryside.

So, our mystery house has cast its magic

and it strikes me that Nick and Karen,

they are a couple that are going to keep to their word

and make a decision pretty quickly.

Let's face it - that stunning property has their names

written all over it

and I'm going to be keeping everything crossed.

That's it from me from the beautiful Buckinghamshire countryside

and I'll see you next time.

It turns out our mystery house was the perfect property

and I'm delighted to say Nick and Karen put in an offer

which has been accepted.

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